Chapter 5

“I'm sorry, Luna, but you lost a baby.”

The words struck like lightning—fast, brutal, and irreversible.

Everything around me blurred. The sterile hospital room, the beeping monitors, the worried faces... all of it faded. All I could feel was the searing, unbearable ache blooming in my chest.

It was as if the ground had opened beneath me, and I was free-falling into a pit of despair I couldn’t climb out of. The sharp pain in my body that had throbbed nonstop for hours simply disappeared, swallowed by something much deeper.

Grief.

Raw, bitter, soul-tearing grief.

Inside me, my wolf howled. A sound no one else could hear, but I felt it rattle my bones—mournful, broken, filled with the primal pain of losing a pup. My pup.

Gone.

Because of them.

Because of her.

My hands trembled as my nails dug into the skin of my arms. I welcomed the sting, desperate for any kind of distraction. But it didn’t work. That pain was nothing compared to the one in my heart.

The tears came in waves, hot and relentless. No sobs. Just silent, constant weeping, as if my body had no other way to cope with the loss. Like crying might cleanse the hollow ache settling deep inside me.

Why?

Why would the Moon Goddess allow this to happen to me?

I prayed. Every night, I prayed so hard my knees ached and my voice cracked. I believed she’d protect me… protect us.

The doctor was still talking. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn’t hear him. His words faded into meaningless sound. Nothing mattered anymore.

The one thing I feared the most had already been said.

Until…

“…you still have to stress yourself less and eat well, or else you’ll be stressing the other baby—”

I blinked. The other baby?

My head snapped up, my tear-filled eyes meeting his. “Other baby?” I croaked, voice hoarse and shaking. “What other baby, doctor?”

He looked startled, brows pulling together in confusion. “What… I didn’t tell you?”

I shook my head slowly. My heart pounded so hard it made my ears ring. “Didn’t tell me what?”

“Well, I could’ve sworn I did,” he muttered. “Anyway, you were having twins—well, you are. You lost one, but the other baby… the other one is still alive. That’s what I was trying to tell you. You have to be very careful now and—”

His voice began to blur again, but for a different reason this time. It felt like my heart had just been shocked back to life—stunned into a rhythm I didn’t think I’d feel again.

A breath caught in my throat as my hands moved to my stomach, cradling it as if I could shield the tiny life inside from the world.

The Moon Goddess hadn’t abandoned me.

She heard me.

She took one, yes… but she left me with a reason to keep going.

Tears slipped down my cheeks again, but now they tasted of hope—salt and something almost sweet.

“Okay,” the doctor said gently, breaking through my thoughts, “the bleeding has stopped, but with the extent of your injuries, you’ll need to shift into your wolf to heal properly. Do you feel strong enough?”

I nodded, the smile never leaving my face. A piece of my heart was gone, but not all of it. I still had something to fight for.

“I’m going to leave you to it then,” he said softly, giving me one last look before stepping out and quietly closing the door behind him.

The room fell silent.

I breathed in slowly, steadying myself, then climbed off the bed with a wince. My body ached all over, but nothing hurt quite like the wound Amber left behind. My sister… my own blood. I never thought she’d go this far. I never believed she’d turn so dark. That she’d kill my child– her blood.

She was heartless. Vile. And it broke something in me that Zed still couldn’t see it.

I swallowed the pain and took off my clothes, before I let the shift begin.

The heat started in my core, radiating outwards, until my skin tingled and pulled. Bones cracked softly beneath the surface, reforming, reshaping. My vision sharpened, the colors of the room shifting into cooler tones. Fur sprouted from my skin—rich, silvery white with streaks of pale gold glinting in the light, like moonlight on snow.

It didn’t take long.

Within moments, my wolf stood in place of me—tall, elegant, and quietly powerful.

She was calm.

Stronger than I felt.

Without hesitation, she padded softly to the corner of the room and curled up. The pain was still there, but my body was already working to repair itself. All I needed now… was rest.

I tucked my nose beneath my tail and closed my eyes, silently praying that by the time I woke up, the healing would be complete—at least physically.

The rest… I wasn’t so sure.

It wasn’t long before my eyes fluttered open.

The room was darker now, the light outside dimming into evening. For a moment, I thought I’d only dozed off for a few minutes, but my body felt lighter… rested. I stretched out my limbs and slowly rose from the floor.

A soft sigh escaped my lips. At least the wounds were gone. My body had healed—completely, it seemed.

It was time to go home.

But then again… was it really home anymore?

That place felt cold now. Unfamiliar. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be welcomed beyond the front door. Still, I had to go back. I had to face him.

With that thought weighing heavy on my chest, I shifted back into my human form. A slight chill hit my skin as I quickly got dressed. I was just buttoning my pants when the door creaked open.

The pack doctor stepped in, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Oh, great—you’re awake,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “You took quite a long nap there. But I’m guessing your wounds and bruises are fully healed by now?”

I gave him a small, grateful smile. “Yes, doctor. They’re all gone.”

“Perfect!” he said, sounding pleased. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small bottle of pills. “Here,” he said, handing them to me. “You’ll need to take these regularly throughout your pregnancy. They’ll help strengthen the pup—keep our little Alpha safe and sound.”

I looked down at the bottle for a second, then back at him. “I certainly will,” I murmured, accepting it with care.

With that, I grabbed my bag, took one final look around the room, and stepped outside—heading back to the house I’d been thrown out of like I was nothing.

I knew he didn’t want me there.

And Amber definitely didn’t.

But I needed to tell him.

He was the father of my child, and no matter what had happened between us, he deserved to know. I owed him that much.

Still… in the quiet, vulnerable part of my heart, I held onto a fragile hope—one I barely dared to speak aloud.

I hoped that this pup… our pup… might change something in him. That maybe, just maybe, he’d look at me again—not with anger, but with love in his eyes like a mate would. That he’d see past Amber’s lies. That he’d choose me, his mate–love me.

I had imagined it so many times…

Him holding me close, whispering that he was sorry. That he hadn’t known. That he’d made a terrible mistake.

Kissing the tears from my cheeks. Exposing Amber. Sending her away.

But nothing—and I mean nothing—could have prepared me for what I was about to face.